News Release from
The Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District

Date: Feb. 5, 2007
Contact: Tim Anderson, Public Relations Manager
Phone: (308) 995-8601

February Board Meeting Summary

(HOLDREGE, Neb.) -- The Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District's board of directors approved an amendment application at Monday's monthly meeting for Central's Land and Shoreline Management Plan regarding land-use classifications at Plum Creek Reservoir.

Central consulted with resource agencies, local governments, landowners and the general public before making final decisions on land-use classifications at Plum Creek. As a result of the consultations, three areas at the lake were reclassified as "residential," subject to certain conditions intended to protect the scenic, recreational and environmental values of the project lands.

In addition, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recommended additional conditions in relation to American burying beetles, a rare species with the potential to occur in the area. Among the agency recommendations was the use of low-intensity outdoor lighting that would be less likely to attract the beetles into developed areas.

Central will conduct studies to determine if the insect is present in the Plum Creek area. If found, additional restrictions on construction and land use may be implemented.

Central will file the amended application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) this week.
Also related to the shoreline management issues, Central is in the process of reviewing the entire 2002 Land and Shoreline Management Plan as required by the FERC.

As part of the review process, Central will hold three public meetings to solicit input on the plan and to explain the review and update process.

The public is invited to attend any of the three meetings that will be held at the Grey Goose Lodge in Ogallala at 7 p.m. MST on March 6; at the Gothenburg Senior Center at 2 p.m. CST on March 7; and at the Holiday Inn Express in Lexington at 7 p.m. CST on March 7.

The plan is available on the internet at www.cnppid.com/Shoreline_Plan_and_Permits.htm. A paper copy is available for review at Central’s offices in Holdrege and Gothenburg and at the Lake McConaughy Visitor Center.

Also at Monday's meeting:

• The board approved the temporary transfer of water service from 27,393 acres to a like number of acres for the 2007 irrigation season. The temporary transfer program, now in its third year of operation, provides flexibility to irrigation customers seeking to meet irrigation demands with less than normal deliveries of water. Adopted in response to low water supply conditions at Lake McConaughy, the policy allows transfer of delivery service between tracts of land within the irrigated area.

• The board approved Central's participation in a memorandum of agreement with the Lower Platte River Basin Instream Flow Work Group. The group includes a number of Natural Resources Districts, power districts, municipalities, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources in an effort to review the NGPC's instream flow appropriations. The group's goal is to determine if modifications to spring and summer instream flow appropriations would be biologically justified.

The review process was initiated on the premise that modifications could reduce the likelihood that the Dept. of Natural Resources would find it necessary to designate additional stretches of the Platte River as fully appropriated under requirements and conditions set out in LB962. The comprehensive water bill, enacted in 2004, is intended to prevent or resolve conflicts between surface water users and groundwater users in the state's river basins.

• The directors appointed Natural Resources Manager Mike Drain as Central's representative on the Twin Platte NRD's Integrated Management Plan stakeholders group. TPNRD is in the process of formulating an integrated management plan as directed by provisions of LB962.

• The board accepted a bid from Nebraska Machinery of North Platte to supply Central with a previously-owned tractor/loader/backhoe for $53,111, after a trade-in allowance.

• Chairman William Knoerzer made the following assignments to the board's standing committees:

Administration Committee - Robert Garrett (chairman), Roger Olson, Scott Olson, O.J. McDougal, Knoerzer.
Irrigation Committee - Doyle Lavene (chairman), Robert Dahlgren, Robert Johnson, Dudley Nelson, Gordon Soneson.
Power and Recreation Committee - Robert Petersen (chairman), Martin Mueller, Wendell Johnson, Geoff Bogle, Dave Rowe.

Members of an ad hoc committee to address matters related to integrated management of water resources are Roger Olson, Scott Olson, Garrett and Knoerzer.

• John Thorburn, manager of Tri-Basin Natural Resources District, reported that about 35 pivot corners in the Tri-Basin area have been enrolled so far in the Conservation Corners pilot program. The program is intended to save water and create incentives for establishment of wildlife habitat on private land adjacent to pivot-irrigated fields.

(###)